


What We Deserve

by Rune (VenusOurania)



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angel Healing, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Destiel if you want, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotionally Hurt Sam Winchester, Episode Fix-It: s15e20 Carry On, Episode Fix-it, Everything is Beautiful and Nothing Hurts, Fix-It, Gen, Happy Ending, Hurt Dean Winchester, Hurt/Comfort, One Shot, Podfic Welcome
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-12
Updated: 2020-12-12
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:07:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28026774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VenusOurania/pseuds/Rune
Summary: Dean was dying, and it wasn't okay. And then suddenly, he wasn't, and it was.
Relationships: Castiel & Dean Winchester, Castiel & Dean Winchester & Sam Winchester, Dean Winchester & Sam Winchester
Comments: 4
Kudos: 18





	What We Deserve

**Author's Note:**

> I am salty. The finale was bad enough to break me out of my writers block, so maybe _some _good did come out of it.__

_ "I think we deserve _

_ a soft epilogue, my love. _

_ We are good people _

_ and we’ve suffered enough." _

_ – Seventy Years of Sleep # 4. nikka ursula _

… 

They’d been here so many times before. This felt familiar. Charted yet uncharted territory. 

This was different. 

Sammy didn’t deserve this, so many goodbyes. None of them deserved this. But as Adam had once put in so eloquently, when had life ever been about what you deserved?

Everytime they thought it would be the end, it hadn’t. They’d somehow, someway, always found a way back. Through unconventional means, bad or good. Demon deals or angels, soulless or scarred. Every goodbye had felt like the last, that this would be it. 

They somehow always made it back to each other, Sam and Dean, them against the world. 

But this was different. 

They were no longer heroes. Chuck was no longer writing their stories. They’d hit the end and it was over. Team Free Will. 

Free will. 

Free.

They were normal now, the regular run of the mill hunters. Writing their own stories. 

And normal people, even normal  _ hunters _ , didn’t get resurrections. Didn’t get miraculous healings. They got a hunter's funeral, and sometimes, if lucky, a wake. Funny how life had a way to give you what you want when you need it least. Be careful what you wish for and all that bullshit. 

None of this was okay. 

He would be leaving Sam alone, again. This wasn’t supposed to happen, they were supposed to be happy. Now Sammy would be alone, without Dean. What were the chances he’d hit another dog and meet a girl? 

They’d fought hard for this, for freedom. 

He knew he was hurting Sam, badly. Dean would be the first to admit that they had an unhealthy codependency with each other. It was the whole reason this all had started, with his first deal to bring Sam back in Cold Oak and then going to hell, breaking the first seal. 

But then again, turns out it had all been scripted. 

That didn’t mean anything hurt less, though. He still loved Sam as much as he had then, and he knew Sam would be a mess after this. 

“I need you to tell me-- tell me it’s okay.”

His fingers had already gone numb, and there was a chill starting to settle in his bones. He needed to know it was okay to leave Sam, to leave now.

He also knew it wasn’t. It’d never be okay. But he just- he needed to hear it. Even if Sam had to lie about it. Dean couldn’t bear to leave otherwise. And he couldn’t stay. 

Sam’s face, tear stained and anguished, contorted in pain before he opened his mouth, and Dean relaxed just a tiny fraction. Yes, yes. It’d be a lie, but Sam would say it, and it’d be okay(not), and he could leave. Sam had always been the stronger of the two. 

“No.”

Dean startled, but not nearly as much as Sam, who flinched violently before whipping around. 

None of them had heard anyone come in, the barn doors were still locked. They hadn’t heard the rustle of wings either. For a moment, he thought he’d died. Dean had died without the last words. Without hearing it from Sammy. Or maybe he was hallucinating, last moments and life flashing before your eyes thing?

But then Sam made a strangled sound, and Dean knew he still had a few moments left. Maybe more. 

Castiel, powerful and magnificent and so so beautifully  _ alive,  _ was standing there. He was standing and he was staring, right at Dean, his eyes fierce in a way Dean had seen so many times. 

“Cass?” Sam asked tentatively, breaking the spell. His body trembled ever so slightly. 

Cass’ eyes moved over to Sam’s, holding his gaze for a split second before he nodded, and then he was striding towards them. 

“No,” he repeated, his voice firm, “It’s not okay. You do not get to go like this, Dean Winchester.”

He was standing right in front of Dean now, within reach. Sam was standing off to his left, his face lit up with so much hope it made his throat tighten. “C-Cass.”

“After everything you’ve been through, after everything you fought for?” Cass reached out and gripped one of Dean’s shoulders, “This is not how it ends.” 

With that he jerked Dean off the only thing that had been keeping him together. Sam made a sudden move, as if to catch Dean, or stop Cass, his face pinched and worried. But then he held himself still. 

Cass had Dean in an embrace, his face on Cass’ shoulder, propped up by his arms. One of Cass’ hands was on his back, on the wound. 

It reminded Dean of that time in Cold Oak, Sam dying in his arms, with a similar wound through his back. Except this time he wasn’t dying. Except this time, there was an angel instead of a demon and he could feel when Cass started healing him. 

Then Cass lifted him off himself, gripping his shoulders and looking into his eyes. The bone deep cold was gone, replaced by a familiar warmth that was so inherently  _ Cass. _

Cass gave a final squeeze and then removed his hands. Dean only had a second to mourn the loss of touch before Sam practically barreled into him. His arms were tight around him to the point of pain, but he wasn’t about to complain. He could hear Sam sobbing. 

“Shh, Sammy, I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.” He was crying too, and he didn’t know what to do. Castiel was alive, and he’d just saved his life, and maybe even saved Sam’s. 

After what felt like somewhere between a heartbeat and twenty lifetimes, Sam let go, turning to Castiel, who’d been watching patiently, his eyes soft and face warm. 

“Cass, you’re alive,” he stated, rather redundantly, before wrapping his arms around the angel. 

“Yes, well,” Cass said when they pulled apart, “Jack resurrected me. Again.”

“And-” Dean swallowed against the rawness in his throat, “And what about The Empty?”

He gave a smile, “Jack was able to put it back to sleep. It won’t be bothering anyone anytime soon. I think everyone was a happy party in that one.”

“That’s- that sounds great, Cass,” Sam said, his voice stronger now. “It’s… wow. I’m just…”

“Yeah, same,” Dean said, laughing a little hysterically. A few minutes ago, everything felt like it had been falling apart, all over again. And now? He had a little trouble believing it was true. And then he remembered the children, the reason they’d been here. The vampires. There could have been more, “Cass, the- the kids. We have to--”

“They’re safe.” 

Dean slumped in relief. It was over. This whole… case. It was over. 

“What’s next for you, Cass? Have you talked to Jack again since he brought you back to life?” Sam asked. 

At this, Cass’ smile dimmed a little, and Dean felt his heart sink. “I have. We’re working to make Heaven a better place right now. How it should always have been. That’s why I-” he hesitated, his eyes finding Dean’s, “That’s why I can’t stay.”

“Oh,” Dean didn’t know what to say. It wasn’t like Cass was dying again. He was actually doing what he’d always wanted to do; make heaven a better place. And now that he wasn’t dying either, and there weren’t any world ending, apocalyptic events happening, they didn’t need him. Not in the way heaven did. 

But then Sam, ever the optimist, asked, “But you’ll still visit, right? Come over to the bunker? Sometimes? We thought we’d lost you again, man. It’d be good to have you back. Even if it’s just every once in a while.”

At this, Cass’ eyes lit up too, and he smiled, “Of course,” he said, and it was a promise. “Of course I will.”

And just like that, things were okay. Actually okay; not a false, poor imitation to cocoon him, but the blissful awareness that things were right. They were okay. 

**Author's Note:**

> I actually ship Sastiel more than I do Destiel but this fic just went whatever way it wanted to. I just knew I needed to write a fix it the moment I saw the finale, because, excuse me, hello? 
> 
> I finished watching the series yesterday and god, it left me a goddamn mess. I have buried myself in fics and interviews and tumblr gifs since then. This was a peice of such bAD writing. Dean had fought so hard, so badly to be free, to escape whatever story Chuck had them trapped in, and when they finally get that? He what? Just dies? From a fucking iron rod thingy to the back? Are you _kidding _me?__
> 
> __I started watching this show for the fics and now I am too far in to ever get out._ _
> 
> __By the way, here's my[tumblr](https://venus-ourania.tumblr.com/) in case any of you all want to see my shitposting, memes, fandom writings or poetry. Feel free to send in prompts too, been running a little dry lately!_ _


End file.
